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Books and Reading: A Tremendous Source of Inspiration

February 28th, 2022

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.” –Annie Dillard

I don’t know where I’d be without the books I’ve read, and the books I have yet to read. But certainly, I would not be where I am at right now and I wouldn’t be living the inspired life I’m living.

Hi.

While reading has transformed my life in so many ways and so many times, it hasn’t always been that way.

For years, except for when assigned to read a book for a particular class in high school or college, I didn’t enjoy reading. It wasn’t a pastime. It was something I did pretty much only when necessary.

That is, until I lost my Division I basketball scholarship at the start of my junior year at the University of Montana. A Journalism professor who knew I was struggling recommended I read Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl.

At the time, I was 20 years old and a long ways from home. Feeling devastated and lost, I read the book. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and philosopher, chronicles his experiences as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

I was, and continue to be, inspired by Frankl’s life and example. I learned from Frankl that we have the power to choose how to respond to our circumstances, and that in choosing our response, we’re choosing our existence. I went from feeling like a victim of my unfortunate, unexpected, and disappointing circumstances to someone who had agency. I could choose my existence, and so I did. And it made all the difference.

The experience of reading Man’s Search for Meaning marks the beginning of my love affair with books and reading, and I’ve been a voracious reader ever since, reading 50-70 books a year. Books provide a tremendous source of inspiration for me, and reading is one the most important ways I satisfy my curiosity.

So many books have moved, inspired, informed, and taught me. The following list includes the books that come to mind when I think of those that have had the biggest influence on me and my life. This list of favorites is a work-in-progress that continues to grow. Please note that the following books are not ranked or in any particular order.

Shelli’s most favorite & influential books:

Being Mortal, by Atul Gawande

Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand

The Art of Stillness, by Pico Iyer

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coehlo

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, by Nina Riggs

When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi

Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl

The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran

Gift From The Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh

The Solace of Open Spaces, by Gretel Ehrlich

The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America’s National Parks, by Terry Tempest Williams